People with hearing impairments often miss out, for example, on the enjoyment of a television program or movie because they cannot understand the dialog in the program material. These impairments may be significant enough to require hearing aids, or they may be less severe and merely entail slight hearing damage or hearing loss associated with age. Regardless of the reason for the hearing loss, the enjoyment of sharing time with others can be dramatically affected. Turning the volume up can make it uncomfortable for others in the same area. Some individuals may prefer a quieter listening experience than others in the room. Turning the volume down for a single individual may not be acceptable to the rest of the people watching the movie. Therefore, a personalized sound reproduction for a multiplicity of listeners is desirable.